Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, October 2, 1993 TAG: 9310020170
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: RALPH BERRIER JR. STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PEARISBURG LENGTH: Medium
The Giles offense is the irresistible force. Its defense, the immovable object.
Galax was the latest team to operate in this vacuum - and the latest Giles opponent to be thoroughly thrashed - as the Spartans put on another football clinic in a 52-0 blowout Friday night.
Giles (5-0 overall, 4-0 in the district) amassed 410 yards of total offense and limited Galax to 65 yards.
"I'm surprised," said Steve Ragsdale, the Giles coach. "I never expected we'd win like this. I felt this would be a tight ballgame."
For the second consecutive week, Giles continued to blow scoreboard fuses. The Spartans, averaging 42 points per game, scored 65 points in a similar victory Sept. 24 at Auburn.
Tailback Raypheal Milton piled up 151 yards of total offense - 70 yards rushing, 81 passing - to lead the Spartans' single-wing attack.
"We're probably more diversified on offense than we've ever been," Ragsdale said. "We've got several good running backs, we've got good receivers and we've got guys who can throw the ball."
As if the Spartans needed anything else, they also have a miserly defense that swallowed Galax ball carriers and held the Maroon Tide to minus-4 yards passing. The shutout was Giles' first of the season.
"We're real quick and strong," said defensive end Patrick Steele. "Two of our fastest players are linemen. Plus, most of us are half-crazy. Some don't have much sense . . . they enjoy the contact."
Giles put away Galax (1-4, 1-3) by scoring 20 points in the second and third quarters. In the second half, sophomore backup Kevin Slusser carried four times for 102 yards and he scored on runs of 64 and 22 yards. It was Slusser's second consecutive 100-yard performance.
The Spartans' final two touchdowns of the first half were set up by long completions by Milton. Midway through the second quarter, he connected with Steele on a 40-yard strike that put the ball on the Galax 17-yard line. Three plays later, Peter Janney scored on a 3-yard run to make it 20-0.
After the Giles defense held the Maroon Tide to three plays and a punt, Milton went to work again with less than a minute remaining. On third-and-10 from the Galax 45, he hit J.C. Riggs in midstride for a 41-yard pickup. With 16 seconds left, Reggie Hoston scored on a 3-yard reverse to make 26-0.
"I had plenty of time to look for receivers," Milton said. "On the pass to Patrick, he beat the defense. On the second one, I told J.C. before the play to run by 'em. I just laid it up for him."
Giles went 28 yards in four plays after recovering a botched fake punt on the first drive of the game, scoring on Janney's 10-yard run up the middle.
In the second quarter, Milton scored on a 4-yard run. A conversion pass fell incomplete - one of five failed Spartans point-after tries - and Giles led 12-0.
In the second half, Janney, who ran for 74 yards, scored his third touchdown of the night, this one on a 5-yard run. Maurice Milton made it 40-0 with a 4-yard touchdown run.
Giles scored on every possession except for its last, when the Spartans ran out the clock.
"We got our butts kicked," said Galax coach Temple Kessinger, who was not feeling particularly chatty afterward. "We were not prepared for this. That's all." \
see microfilm for box score
by CNB